Petropavlovsk: Former Qyzyljar FC Accountant on Trial for Embezzlement and Tax Evasion

In Petropavlovsk, a court has begun hearings involving former club officials, Orda.kz reports.

This time, the defendant is former chief accountant Olga Zamelatskaya, who is accused of embezzling funds on a particularly large scale and evading taxes.

Now retired at 62, Zamelatskaya prohibited photos of her in court. She began working at Qyzyljar FC in 2006 and was promoted to chief accountant on January 4, 2023. Prosecutors allege that from that point, she colluded with former club president Grigory Loria in a scheme to embezzle funds.

Qyzyljar FC is fully state-funded and does not generate independent revenue. In 2023, the club’s declared funding request exceeded 1.7 billion tenge, which the local government transferred according to contracts.

 In March, after receiving budget funds, the President of Loria, an official with sole authority to resolve financial issues of the Kyzylzhar SK football club, developed a criminal intent to steal someone else’s property on an especially large scale using his official position for selfish reasons ,senoir prosecutor Aliya Muratova told the court.

According to the prosecution, Loria and Zamelatskaya colluded to carry out the scheme. With access to the club’s finances in Loria’s absence, Zamelatskaya allegedly produced fake documents and cashed out unjustified payments.

Loria instructed Zamelatskaya to use his digital signature independently. To conceal the theft of budget funds, measures of criminal conspiracy were taken, for which Loria, as the president of the club, provided patronage in their criminal activities. They managed to hide from the customer the actual data on the number of employees, the amount of expenses for paying the coaching staff, training camps, bonuses and wages to employees, travel expenses, and so on, Muratova said.

An audit revealed that 60.5 million tenge was allocated in 2023 for head coach Ali Aliev’s expenses — an amount deemed excessive. Irregularities were also found in the team’s travel spending.

During 2023, Zamelatskaya, in agreement with Loria, transferred money from the club's account to his personal account when administrator Viktor Stavsky traveled with the team to training camps abroad and republican tournaments in Kazakhstan, for which Stavsky prepared advance reports upon arrival and submitted them to the accounting department. In total, during 2023, Stavsky was transferred 43 million 188 thousand tenge,  said Muratova.

Zamelatskaya is also accused of withdrawing 67.5 million tenge from the club's account and failing to report the cash. Despite being familiar with accounting software, she allegedly avoided using it.

Investigators say she had Stavsky sign 21 blank cash order forms, which she later filled out retroactively. This included one fake revenue order for 103 million tenge. Of the 67.5 million tenge withdrawn, 49.7 million was allegedly embezzled by Loria, Zamelatskaya, and others.

Prosecutors also allege an additional 10 million tenge was withdrawn by Stavsky and handed directly to Loria. Zamelatskaya reportedly created a fake order granting performance bonuses to herself and another accountant, even though bonuses were only meant for players, resulting in 4 million tenge being misappropriated.

An economist position was listed in the staffing table, but no such employee existed. Zamelatskaya allegedly assumed these duties and awarded herself a 50% salary bonus — an additional 281,000 tenge monthly, or 3.4 million tenge annually.

The state claims 127.7 million tenge allocated to Qyzyljar in 2023 was misappropriated.

Zamelatskaya is also charged with tax evasion. By using illicit schemes, club officials allegedly underpaid corporate income tax and underreported overall income. For 2022, they reportedly failed to pay 55 million tenge in corporate income tax, and 24 million for 2023.

According to the tax audit report of December 5, 2024, the club was additionally charged corporate tax in the amount of 79.5 million tenge, individual tax in the amount of 119.8 million tenge, and social tax in the amount of 95.3 million tenge,  the prosecutor said.

The club must now repay 287.1 million tenge in total.

Zamelatskaya showed no emotion during the hearing, keeping her eyes on the documents. She denied the charges and denied any involvement in financial misconduct.

At the next hearing, the court will review case materials, hear from victims and witnesses, and then give the defendant the floor. Official plaintiffs include the city’s sports department, Qyzyljar FC, and the Petropavlovsk tax office.

As for 71-year-old former club president Grigory Loria, a separate investigation is ongoing. Unconfirmed reports say he has already left Kazakhstan.

Original Author: Kristina Yusicheva